VCI Entertainment's 4K Film Restoration Of Mary Pickford's Sparrows Arrives As A Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack On Nov. 09

VCI Entertainment, working the with The Mary Pickford Foundation and the Library of Congress, has a new 4K film restoration of director: William Beaudine’s 1926 silent film classic, Sparrows, ready for a Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack debut on Nov. 9.

From the depths of despair comes hope in the form of Molly (Mary Pickford, who was 34 at the time … she also produced the film), a young woman, who lives with Mr. Grimes (Gustav von Seyffertitz) and his wife in the swamps of Florida.   They run a rather shady “orphanage” for young children, which is really a front for their child trafficking operation — you need a baby or small child outside of the legal system, go see Mr. and Mrs. Grimes and their son Ambrose (Spec O'Donnell) and they will fix you right up.

Molly has grown up there, never “adopted,” so she is now tasked with caring for the youngsters.   We get a glimpse of how the operation works when a “buyer” comes to inquire about a hog … baby out the door.  

We also discover that the Grimes are involved with kidnappers, who cleverly hide their victims in plain sight by stashing the small fry at the Grimes.   It’s a perfect operation, until … until the latest kidnapping goes south and Ambrose is tasked with disposing of the “evidence.”   The alligators will be well-fed tonight!!

Molly has reached her limit and tries to save the baby, but is caught by Ambrose, who decides to be rid of her as well … in for a nickel, in for a pound!  Desperate, she takes the baby and the rest of the children and makes for the gator-invested swamp!!   All hope is lost.

OK, it is Mary Pickford, “America’s Sweetheart,” so despite the deadly peril, there will be justice and a happy ending.  She knows what her audience wants and she delivers both a powerful story and some pretty intense action.

Of note, an elaborate three-acre set was built in Hollywood, just south of present-day Santa Monica Blvd. and just west of La Brea.   It was a “real” swamp, and real alligators were used.  Since Mary Pickford was the producer, she brought the child cast members to the set several weeks before the actual shooting was to commence so that they could be toughened up … their feet, which are bare for the entire film, needed to get accustomed to the “Hollywood” swamp.

 

 

 

Vinegar Syndrome Announces It October Slate Of New Film Restoration • Street Date Will Be Oct. 26

Vinegar Syndrome announced its late October film restoration slate this past week.   The street date for the five-strong slate of films heading home as Blu-ray product offerings will be Oct. 26.

Leading the parade is writer/director Thomas R. Rondinella’s 1989 film release of Blades, which was originally a Troma Entertainment theatrical release.   It has been around forever as VHS and, as near as we can figure, on DVD from Troma back in 2004 as part of a triple-feature promotion.  

This is a new 2K film restoration from Vinegar Syndrome — from the original camera negative — and the Oct. 26 date will mark Blades’ Blu-ray debut.

Blades was Rondinella’s directing debut.  He was a film school grad from NYU, got real-world experience as the AD on writer/director John P. Finnegan’s 1985 film, Girls School Screamers and then became both a college professor and a film producer (mainly short films and documentaries under the Catfish Studios banner).

Filmed in New Jersey, we find that a killing spree is taking place at The Tall Grass Country Club, but it is not your run of the mill serial killer on the loose.   Instead, it is an industrial-sized lawnmower that is grinding up those on the links.  

Troma made no secret of it at the time, Blades, was Jaws on a golf course.  It was a spoof, a horror-spoof of Spielberg’s Jaws.   It literally wrote itself, all of the elements of Jaws were baked into the production, including a dead-on riff of the music.

It falls to Deke Slade (Jeremy Whelan), Roy Kent (Robert North), a former pro golfer who has seen better days, and rising amateur Kelly Lange (Victoria Scott), to hunt down the land-shark (er, lawnmower) before the big tournament arrives.   Otherwise, it could be a national disaster.

Bonus “divots” include commentary from filmmaker Thomas R. Rondinella, who is joined by co-writer William R. Pace, plus there is the featurette titled “Fore Warning.”

Also on the Blu-ray release calendar from Vinegar Syndrome on Oct. 26 are director Jim Clarke’s 1981 adult film release of Debbie Does Dallas, Part II, starring Bambi Woods; director Russell Mulcahy’s 1999 direct-to-video serial killer thriller, Resurrection, featuring Christopher Lambert; director Richard Styles’ Shallow Grave and the French-language import, Devil Story.

 

AGFA Looks To Oct. 26 For The Blu-ray Debut Of Filmmaker John Wintergate's Boardinghouse

AGFA (the American Genre Film Archive) will be joining forces with Bleeding Skull on Oct. 26 for the Blu-ray debut of writer/director John Wintergate’s 1983 film release of Boardinghouse.

Jim Royce (played by John Wintergate) is, by any standard, a creep, a low life.   But, as fate would have it, he  has come into possession of an old rooming house, which comes complete with a history of lots and lots of weird goings-on … “paranormal” activity.  

In his alternate universe, the house is the perfect place for attractive young women to become boarders and since Jim is a creep, he’s willing to negotiate the rent, which gives you a pretty good idea of what the “boardinghouse” has really become, a bordello.  

Boardinghouse is one of those rare “horror” films that easily feels at home in the world of sexploitation.   It is as if the horror elements are mixed in to break up all of the “special” time that we spend with half-naked women … the pain of it. 

Also, as near as anyone can figure out, Boardinghouse was the first filmed-on-video production to be blown up to 35mm and released theatrically (although there might be a couple of adult (X-rated) films that might have been there, but this appears the first “main stream” theatrical release.

As to bonus goodies, we have a 2K film restoration from the 35mm release print, which is the theatrical cut of the film.   AGFA has also included the original “home video” cut of the film and an “unreleased” alternate cut of Boardinghouse that is titled Psycho Killer.

There are also two commentary options, a tag-team from AFGA and Bleeding Skull, plus one with actors Maryel McKinely and Sean King, plus a bonus feature titled Sally and Jess (with commentary from actors Kalassu, John Wintergate and Sean King.

 

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment tabs Nov. 9 As The Street Date For Writer/Director Lisa Joy's Reminiscence

Warner Bros. Home Entertainment has selected Nov. 9 for the home entertainment packed media rollout of director writer/director Lisa Joy’s neo-noir sci-fi mystery, Reminiscence, starring Hugh Jackman and Rebecca Ferguson (Dune, Doctor Sleep).

Although visually exciting and interesting in its concept, the pound-you-in-the-head woke narrative, complete with out-of-control climate change (Miami flooded and too hot to navigate during daylight hours … oh please, save us), meant that this $60 million production was doomed to some dismal numbers at the box office.    

For the record, the ARR for this three-SKU release comes in at 81 days and domestic ticket sales were just $3.9 million.

Planned for release are stand-alone DVD and Blu-ray product offering, as well as a 4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack.

Reminiscence is Lisa Joy’s feature film directing debut … she hit it big with her husband, Jonathan Nolan, with their re-imagining of Michael Crichton’s Westworld.   The HBO series, by any standard, was an exciting sci-fi tale, but by season three they managed to drive that into a wall.  It has been 18 months since HBO approved a fourth season … perhaps the dismal result from Reminiscence, coupled with the disastrous third season of Westworld, means that the magic is gone.

It falls to Warner Bros. Home Entertainment and the streaming numbers to salvage what they can for the producing partners … this was not an in-house Warner Bros. production, but a pre-production acquisition for distribution rights (how much skin the studio actually has in the game is unknown).

As to bonus features, common to all three SKUs is the featurette titled “Crafting a Memory.”  The 4K Ultra HD and Blu-ray editions include four additional featurettes — “You’re Going on a Journey,” “The Sunken Coast,” “Reminiscence: A Family Reunion” and “Save My Love.”

 

New DVD • Blu-ray • 4K Ultra HD Activity For The Period Ending September 17, 2021

 

 

New DVD Additions

 

Acorn Media

09/14/21 — Released Agatha Raisin Halloween Pop-Up Collectible

 

Alpha Video (MOD)

09/14/21 — Released Adam's Rib (silent-1923), Curse of the Headless Horseman, Felix the Cat Early Cartoon Classics, Volume 2 (9 silent cartoons), Hawthorne of the U.S.A. (silent-1919), It's Alive, Lady Frankenstein, Mr. Lobo's Cinema Insomnia: War of the Planets, Rare Christmas TV Classics, Volume 3 (4 TV episodes) and Squeeze

 

Bridgestone Multimedia (MOD)

09/14/21 — Released Prayer List

 

Championship Productions

09/07/21 — Released Nick Nurse: Shoot Like a Pro - Fundamentals, Skills & Competitive Drills, Nick Nurse: Switching, Rotations, Pick & Roll Defense, Doubling the Post and More!, Nick Nurse: The Spread Offense + Counters, Reads, Adjustments and More! And Preparing Infielders for the Speed of the Game

 

Code Red

09/14/21 — Released French Conspiracy (aka Assassination) (French)

 

Criterion Collection

12/07/21 — Sets One Night in Miami … (2 disc set) (ARR of 347 days; box office estimate: $100,000)

12/14/21 — Sets The Learning Tree

 

Dark Star Pictures

09/14/21 — Released Death Drip Gorgeous

 

Elvis DVD Collector/Movie Store (MOD)

09/14/21 — Released 4 Dollars of Revenge, Ashlyn Rising, Beast with a 1,000,000 Eyes, Behind Green Lights, Bella, Belle of the Yukon, Broken Dreams, Broadway Limited, Bulldog Courage, California Gigolo, Canadian Wilderness, Carthage in Flames, Cat House Fever, Chamber of Horrors, Champagne for Breakfast, Double Feature (2 film set: Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea, Fantastic Voyage), Fleshpot on 42nd Street, Fly Me the French Way (French), Hard Soap Hard Soap, Her Last Fling, I Married a Monster from Outer Space, Justine a Matter of Innocence, Last House on the Beach, Living Idol, Monte Carlo Story, Slightly Scarlet, Song of the South, Spaceways, Strangler of the Swamp, Tammy and the T-Rex, Tapestry of Passion, Tarzan the Ape Man, That Funny Feeling, Thing That Couldn't Die, Thousand and One Erotic Nights, Thousand and One Erotic Nights, Part II: The Forbidden Tales, Tiger from River Kwai (Italian), Unholy Wife and Wicked Die Slow

 

Excel Entertainment

09/14/21 — Released Witnesses (ARR of 102 days; box office: $853,678)

 

Fat Possum Records

09/14/21 — Released Memphis '69: The 1969 Memphis Country Blues Festival

 

Film Detective

10/19/21 — Sets Frankenstein's Daughter: Special Edition

 

Film Movement

09/14/21 — Released Dead Pigs (Cantonese)

 

Gravitas Ventures (MOD)

09/07/21 — Released #Blessed, Hood River, Language Arts and Meander

09/14/21 — Released Giddy Stratospheres and Monster

 

Greenwich Entertainment

09/14/21 — Released Whirlybird

 

HBO Home Entertainment (MOD)

09/14/21 — Released Mare of Easttown: The Complete First Season (2 disc set)

 

Hallmark Channel

09/14/21 — Released Sweet Autumn

 

High Frontier (MOD)

09/14/21 — Released High Frontier: The Untold Story of Gerard K. O'Neill

 

I-Cine

09/14/21 — Released Cuc Cung Rac Roi (18 disc set)

 

Image Entertainment

09/14/21 — Released Eli Roth's History of Horror: Season 2 (2 disc set)

 

Indican Pictures

09/14/21 — Released Miranda Veil

 

Just for the Hell of It (MOD)

09/14/21 — Released Female Response and New York Nights (aka: Shackin' Up)

 

Kino Lorber

09/14/21 — Released Blue Panther (aka Marie-Chantal vs. Doctor Ka) (French), Bluebeard (aka Landru) (French), Can You Bring It (ARR of 60 days; box office: $9,723)Masquerade and Rififi in Paris (aka The Upper Hand) (French)

 

Lionsgate Home Entertainment

09/14/21 — Released Catch the Bullet and Zola (ARR of 74 days; box office: $4,834,673)

 

Mill Creek Entertainment

10/05/21 — Sets Romance in the Wilds

 

One 7 Movies

09/14/21 — Released Rape of the Virgin Girls (Portuguese)

 

PBS Direct

09/14/21 — Released Discovering Your Warrior Spirit with D.J. Vanas, Exhumed: A History of Zombies, Guilt: Season One (2 disc set), Lucy Worsley's Royal Myths and Secrets, Vol. 2 and Molly of Denali: Molly and the Great One

 

Paramount Home Ent.

09/14/21 — Released Blue's Clues and You! Story Time with Blue (2 disc set) and Magnum P.I.: Season Three (4 disc set)

 

Paramount Home Ent. (MOD)

09/14/21 — Released Angus, Thongs and Perfect Snogging, Bug, Fan, Forces of Nature, Just a Kiss, Mad Hot Ballroom, Marci X, Queens of Comedy and Son of Rambow

 

Remember When Classic Movies (MOD)

09/14/21 — Released David Copperfield, Deep Diving with the Russians, It Runs on Water, Murder in the Night and Till the Clouds Roll

 

Shout! Factory

09/14/21 — Released Hunters and Masquerade

 

Smart Mark Video (MOD)

09/14/21 — Released H2O Wrestling: Street Justice - Williamstown, NJ, IWA Mid-South: August Armageddon - Jeffersonville, IN, IWA Mid-South: Lethal Lottery - Jeffersonville, IN, IWA Mid-South: Prelude to Petty, 2021 - Jeffersonville, IN, IWA Mid-South: Put Up or Shut Up - Indianapolis, IN and Unholy Warfare: All 4 You Colt - Wentsworth, NC

 

Sony Pictures Home Ent.

09/14/21 — Released Human Factor (ARR of 130 days; box office: $36,108)

10/05/21 — Sets Escape Room: Tournament of Champions (ARR of 81 days’ box office: $25,188,958)

10/26/21 — Sets Don't Breathe 2 (ARR of 74 days; box office: $30,348,211)

 

Sportvideos.com (MOD)

09/14/21 — Released Golf Tips and Techniques, Gymnastics Tips and Techniques, Vol. 4 - Floor Exercise, How to  Swim Faster - Starts, Turns and Finishes, Wrestling Tie-Ups: Shots and Defense and Youth Volleyball Skills and Drills

 

Stonecutter Media (MOD)

09/14/21 — Released Chronicle of a Serial Killer

 

Strand Releasing

09/14/21 — Released Divine Love (Portuguese)

 

The High School Sports Network (MOD)

09/14/21 — Released 2021 Honor Bowl: Clovis East vs Heritage  - Brentwood, CA, 2021 Honor Bowl: Liberty vs Clayton Valley - Brentwood, CA and 2021 Honor Bowl: Pleasant Valley vs Menlo-Atherton - Brentwood, CA

 

Universal Pictures Home Ent.

09/14/21 — Released Furnace

10/19/21 — Sets Old (ARR of 88 days; box office: $47,754,525)

 

Vermont Movie Store (MOD)

08/31/21 — Released Boys of St. Vincent/Boys of St. Vincent - 15 Years Later (2 disc set) and Rabbit Test

 

Vertical Entertainment

09/14/21 — Released Out of Death

 

Vision Films (MOD)

09/14/21 — Released I Love Us, Rumba Love and Shakespeare: The Truth Behind the Name

 

Warner Bros. Home Ent.

09/14/21 — Released Straight Outta Nowhere: Scooby-Doo! Meets the Cowardly Dog

10/19/21 — Sets Superman and Lois: The Complete First Season (3 disc set)

11/09/21 — Legends of Tomorrow: The Complete First Season (3 disc set)

 

Well Go U.S.A.

09/14/21 — Released Crazy Fist (Cantonese)

 

WOWnow Entertainment (MOD)

09/14/21 — Released Capitol Attack and the Electoral Vote Count Part 1, Capitol Attack and the Electoral Vote Count Part 2, Capitol Attack and the Electoral Vote Count Part 3, Holly Hippo's Book Club: Cinderella, Immigration Bill Passes, Immigration Bill Passes Part 2, Joe Biden's Inauguration, Quick Wisdom With Bliss: Mantras, Vol. 1, Quick Wisdom With Bliss: Yoga For Beginners and Trillion Dollar Proposal

 

Zeus DVD (MOD)

09/07/21 — Released Secret of Madame Blanche, Swarm, They Came to Cordura, Thoroughly Modern Millie, Two Guys from Texas, Ulysses, Waterfront and White Cargo

09/14/21 — Released $100 and a T-Shirt, 100 Men and a Girl, 12 Bucks, 1313: Boy Crazies , 16 to Life, 2001: A Space Odyssey, 240-Robert (2 disc set), 36 Hours, 8 Simple Rules (4 disc set), 976-Evil II, Across the Pacific, Adventures of Don Juan, Affair in Trinidad, After the Thin Man, Ah, Wilderness, Alien Nation, All Ashore, All the Marbles, All the Right Movies, All This and Heaven Too, Ambush at Tomahawk Gap, And Baby Makes Three, And the Earth Did Not Swallow Him, Androcles and the Lion, Angel and the Badman, Angel on My Shoulder, Angels and Demons, Angels and Insects, Angels in America, Angels in the Outfield, Annie Get Your Gun, Arabian Nights, Arizona, Arrowsmith, Artemisia (French), Astaire and Rogers: Partners in Rhythm , Athena, Atlantis the Lost Empire, August, Baby Face, Back to the Beach, Backfire, Bad Boy, Band Wagon, Barbarella, Barbarians at the Gates, Barefoot in the Park, Bell Telephone Hour , Below the Sea, Black Moon, Buck Privates Come Home, Bunker Bean, Dry White Season, Far Off Place, Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum , Ideal Husband, Night in Casablanca, Reason to Live, A Reason to Die, Song is Born, Star is Born, Sword and the Rose, Thief in the Night, Viking Saga: Son of Thor and Voyage Round My Father

 

 

New Blu-ray Additions

 

 

Cinedigm Entertainment

09/14/21 — Released Tampa Bay Lightning 2021 Stanley Cup Champions (Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack)

 

Code Red

09/14/21 — Released French Conspiracy (aka Assassination) (French)

 

Criterion Collection

12/07/21 — Sets One Night in Miami …

12/14/21 — Sets The Learning Tree

 

Epic Pictures Group, Inc.

09/14/21 — Released Howling Village (Japanese)

 

Excel Entertainment

09/14/21 — Released Witnesses

 

Film Detective

10/19/21 — Sets Frankenstein's Daughter: Special Edition

 

FUNimation

09/14/21 — Released Black Clover: Season Three Part Five (2 Blu-ray/2 DVD Combo Pack) (with Digital Copy)

 

HBO Home Entertainment (MOD)

09/14/21 — Released Mare of Easttown: The Complete First Season

 

High Frontier (MOD)

09/14/21 — Released High Frontier: The Untold Story of Gerard K. O'Neill

 

Image Entertainment

09/14/21 — Released Eli Roth's History of Horror: Season 2 (2 disc set)

 

Indie Rights, Inc. (MOD)

09/14/21 — Released Will and Liz

 

Kino Lorber

09/14/21 — Released Arabesque, Blue Panther (aka Marie-Chantal vs. Doctor Ka) (French), Bluebeard (aka Landru) (French), Masquerade and Rififi in Paris (aka The Upper Hand) (French)

 

Lionsgate Home Entertainment

09/14/21 — Released Catch the Bullet and Zola

 

Movies R USA (MOD)

09/14/21 — Released Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, Archer: Season 10, Archer: Season 11, Broadway Danny Rose, Candyman, Charmed: Season Three, Charmed: Season Two (2 disc set), "Christmas Movie Collection (22 film set: Christmas Carol, Christmas Story, Christmas With the Cranks, Die Hard, Four Christmases, Fred Claus, Holiday, Home Alone, Home Alone 2, Its a Wonderful Life, Love Actually, Miracle on 34th Street, Muppet Christmas Carol, National Lampoons Christmas Vacation, Nightmare Before Christmas, Office Christmas Party, Polar Express, Rise of the Guardians, Santa Clause, Santa Clause 2, Santa Clause; plus Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer, Dr Seuss’ The Grinch) (8 disc set), Citizen Ruth, Clarice: The Complete Series, Cry Macho, Date Movie, Decoy: The Complete Series, Desperate Measures, Domestic Disturbance, Falcon and the Winter Soldier: The Complete Series (2 disc set), Fear Factor: The Complete Series (7 disc set), Happy: The Complete Series, Jazz Singer, Magical World of Disney: Joker, the Amiable Ocelot, Major Dad: The Complete Series (3 disc set), Marvel Cinematic Universe (23 film set: Ant-Man, Ant-Man and the Wasp, Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron, Avengers: End Game, Avengers: Infinity War, Black Panther, Captain America: Civil War, Captain America: The First Avenger, Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Captain Marvel, Doctor Strange, Guardians of the Galaxy, Guardians of the Galaxy, Volume 2 , Iron Man, Iron Man 2, Iron Man 3, Spider Man Homecoming, Spider Man Far from Home, Incredible Hulk, Thor, Thor: Dark World, Thor: Ragnarok) (8 disc set), My Son (German), Night of the Comet, Nightbooks, Prisoners of the Ghostland, Rambo: Last Blood - Extended Edition, Rapid Fire, Return, Rise of Empires: Ottoman, Rock 'n Roll High School, Roseanne: Season 10, Scream Queen My Nightmare on Elm Street , Staying Alive, Stop! Or My Mom Will Shoot, Superstoire: The Complete Series (4 disc set), Tales of Uncle Remus (aka: Song of the South), Toys that Made Us: The Complete Series, WandaVision: The Complete Series (2 disc set), White Lotus: Season One and Zone 414

09/28/21 — Sets Free Guy

 

One 7 Movies

09/14/21 — Released Devil in Maddalena (Italian)

 

Ronin Flix

11/23/21 — Released Happy Hooker Goes Hollywood

 

Scream Team Releasing

12/14/21 — Sets Loon

 

Sentai FIlmworks

09/14/21 — Released Girls Und Panzer Das Finale - Part 1 and Magical Girl Site: The Complete Collection (2 disc set)

 

Shout! Factory

09/14/21 — Released Alone in the Dark: Collector's Edition, Hunters, Kubo and the Two Strings (Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack), Masquerade and Paranorman (Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack)

 

Sony Pictures Home Ent.

09/14/21 — Released Human Factor and Walk on the Wild Side

10/05/21 — Sets Escape Room: Tournament of Champions (with Digital Copy)

10/26/21 — Sets Don't Breathe 2 (with Digital Copy)

 

Universal Pictures Home Ent.

10/19/21 — Sets Old (Blu-ray/DVD Combo Pack) (with Digital Copy)

 

VIZ Media

09/14/21 — Released Mr. Osomatsu: Season 2 (3 disc set)

 

Vertical Entertainment

09/14/21 — Released Out of Death

 

Well Go U.S.A.

09/14/21 — Released Crazy Fist (Cantonese)

 

 

New4K Ultra HD Additions

 

 

Criterion Collection

12/14/21 — Sets Red Shoes (4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack)

 

Paramount Home Ent.

12/14/21 — Sets Wolf of Wall Street (with Digital Copy)

 

Severin Films

10/26/21 — Sets Blood for Dracula (4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack) (with bonus CD)

 

Sony Pictures Home Ent.

10/26/21 — Sets Don't Breathe 2 (with Digital Copy)

 

Universal Pictures Home Ent.

10/19/21 — Sets Old (4K Ultra HD/Blu-ray Combo Pack) (with Digital Copy)